Explanation of the words of Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding what he quoted: "… The Chapter on Patience …"
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The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The Chapter on Patience": Patience means restraining; this is its meaning in the language.
What is intended by it in the Shari'ah is restraining the self in three matters: in obeying Allah, from the prohibitions of Allah, and regarding the painful decrees of Allah. These are the types of patience mentioned by the scholars of knowledge: that a person be patient in obeying Allah, because obedience is heavy upon the self, it is difficult for a person, and it may also be heavy upon the body, such that a person has some weakness and fatigue with him, and it may also involve hardship from a financial aspect, such as the matter of zakah and the matter of Hajj. The important point is that acts of obedience involve some hardship upon the self and the body, so they require patience and endurance. Allah the Exalted said:[Ali 'Imran 3:200].
As for the second: it is patience from the prohibitions of Allah. The second type: patience from the prohibitions of Allah, such that a person restrains his self from what Allah has forbidden him, because the self that commands evil calls to evil, so a person restrains his self, such as lying, cheating in transactions, taking wealth by falsehood through riba or otherwise, zina, drinking intoxicants, theft, and the like of the many sins. A person restrains himself from them so that he does not commit them. This also requires endurance and requires restraining the self and the desires.
As for the third: it is patience regarding the painful decrees of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, because the decrees of Allah upon a person are either agreeable or painful. The agreeable ones require gratitude, and gratitude is from the acts of obedience, so patience regarding it is of the first type. And the painful ones: such that they do not agree with a person, they are painful, so a person is tested in his body, he is tested in his wealth and loses it, he is tested in his family, he is tested in his community. The important point is that the types of calamities are many and require patience and endurance. So a person restrains his self from what is forbidden to him of displaying distress with the tongue or the heart or the limbs, because when a calamity befalls a person, he has four states:
That he complains, that he is patient, that he is pleased, and that he gives thanks. These are four states that occur for a person when he is struck by a calamity.
That he complains, either with his heart or his tongue or his limbs. Complaining with the heart: that there be in his heart, and may Allah protect us, something against his Lord of dissatisfaction and anger at Allah, and may Allah protect us, and the like of that, and he feels as if Allah the Exalted has wronged him with this calamity.
And as for the tongue, complaining with the tongue: that he calls for woe and destruction: "Oh, my woe," and "Oh, my destruction," and that he curses time, thereby harming Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and the like of that.
Complaining with the limbs is like slapping his cheek, or striking his head, or pulling out his hair, or tearing his garment, and the like of this. This is the state of complaining, the state of the wailing ones who were deprived of the reward and did not escape from the calamity, but rather they acquired sin, so they had two calamities: a calamity in religion through complaining, and a calamity in this world through what came to them that pains them.
As for the second: it is patience with the calamity. The second state: patience with the calamity: by restraining his self. He dislikes the calamity and does not love it and does not love that it occurred, but he restrains his self. He does not speak with the tongue what angers Allah, he does not do with his limbs what angers Allah, and there is never anything in his heart against Allah. He is patient but he dislikes it.
And the third, the third state: being pleased, such that a person is open-hearted with this calamity and is completely pleased with it, as if he had not been struck by it.
And the fourth, the fourth state: giving thanks, so he gives thanks to Allah for it. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he saw what he disliked, would say:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2738Hasan (Darussalam). He gives thanks to Allah because Allah assigns for him from the reward for this calamity more than what he was struck with. For this reason, it is mentioned regarding some of the female worshippers that she was struck in her finger, so she praised Allah for it. They said to her: How do you praise Allah when the finger has been struck as it was? She said: "The sweetness of its reward made me forget the bitterness of its patience", "The sweetness of its reward made me forget the bitterness of its patience". So she gave thanks to Allah for this calamity. So the result is that the types of patience are three:
Patience in obeying Allah, patience from the disobedience of Allah, and patience regarding the painful decrees of Allah. And people in this third type regarding calamities have four states: complaining, patience, being pleased, and giving thanks. And Allah is the One who grants success.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The Chapter on Patience": We have previously explained that patience is three categories: patience in obeying Allah, patience from the disobedience of Allah, and patience regarding the painful decrees of Allah, and that a person has four states regarding the painful decrees of Allah: complaining, patience, being pleased, and giving thanks, and we explained the aspect of that.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The Chapter on Patience": Patience means restraining; this is its meaning in the language.
What is intended by it in the Shari'ah is restraining the self in three matters: in obeying Allah, from the prohibitions of Allah, and regarding the painful decrees of Allah. These are the types of patience mentioned by the scholars of knowledge: that a person be patient in obeying Allah, because obedience is heavy upon the self, it is difficult for a person, and it may also be heavy upon the body, such that a person has some weakness and fatigue with him, and it may also involve hardship from a financial aspect, such as the matter of zakah and the matter of Hajj. The important point is that acts of obedience involve some hardship upon the self and the body, so they require patience and endurance. Allah the Exalted said:
O you who have believed, persevere and endure and remain stationed
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اصْبِرُوا وَصَابِرُوا ورابطواAs for the second: it is patience from the prohibitions of Allah. The second type: patience from the prohibitions of Allah, such that a person restrains his self from what Allah has forbidden him, because the self that commands evil calls to evil, so a person restrains his self, such as lying, cheating in transactions, taking wealth by falsehood through riba or otherwise, zina, drinking intoxicants, theft, and the like of the many sins. A person restrains himself from them so that he does not commit them. This also requires endurance and requires restraining the self and the desires.
As for the third: it is patience regarding the painful decrees of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, because the decrees of Allah upon a person are either agreeable or painful. The agreeable ones require gratitude, and gratitude is from the acts of obedience, so patience regarding it is of the first type. And the painful ones: such that they do not agree with a person, they are painful, so a person is tested in his body, he is tested in his wealth and loses it, he is tested in his family, he is tested in his community. The important point is that the types of calamities are many and require patience and endurance. So a person restrains his self from what is forbidden to him of displaying distress with the tongue or the heart or the limbs, because when a calamity befalls a person, he has four states:
That he complains, that he is patient, that he is pleased, and that he gives thanks. These are four states that occur for a person when he is struck by a calamity.
That he complains, either with his heart or his tongue or his limbs. Complaining with the heart: that there be in his heart, and may Allah protect us, something against his Lord of dissatisfaction and anger at Allah, and may Allah protect us, and the like of that, and he feels as if Allah the Exalted has wronged him with this calamity.
And as for the tongue, complaining with the tongue: that he calls for woe and destruction: "Oh, my woe," and "Oh, my destruction," and that he curses time, thereby harming Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and the like of that.
Complaining with the limbs is like slapping his cheek, or striking his head, or pulling out his hair, or tearing his garment, and the like of this. This is the state of complaining, the state of the wailing ones who were deprived of the reward and did not escape from the calamity, but rather they acquired sin, so they had two calamities: a calamity in religion through complaining, and a calamity in this world through what came to them that pains them.
As for the second: it is patience with the calamity. The second state: patience with the calamity: by restraining his self. He dislikes the calamity and does not love it and does not love that it occurred, but he restrains his self. He does not speak with the tongue what angers Allah, he does not do with his limbs what angers Allah, and there is never anything in his heart against Allah. He is patient but he dislikes it.
And the third, the third state: being pleased, such that a person is open-hearted with this calamity and is completely pleased with it, as if he had not been struck by it.
And the fourth, the fourth state: giving thanks, so he gives thanks to Allah for it. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he saw what he disliked, would say:
Al-Hamdulillah 'Ala Kulli Hal (All praise is due to Allah in every circumstance).
الحمد لله على كل حالPatience in obeying Allah, patience from the disobedience of Allah, and patience regarding the painful decrees of Allah. And people in this third type regarding calamities have four states: complaining, patience, being pleased, and giving thanks. And Allah is the One who grants success.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The Chapter on Patience": We have previously explained that patience is three categories: patience in obeying Allah, patience from the disobedience of Allah, and patience regarding the painful decrees of Allah, and that a person has four states regarding the painful decrees of Allah: complaining, patience, being pleased, and giving thanks, and we explained the aspect of that.